And with Elrington out of the picture and Senior council Godfrey Smith unsure of whether the one-month time frame is enough to prepare for the case, Jared Ranguy, a man charged with murder, may indeed represent himself.
We asked Elrington where things were when he left them, and here's what he told us:
OJ Elrington, Attorney-At-Law
"Well, I. Believe, well, when I left, they had said that they would be proceeding to trial this afternoon, however, it is my understanding and I have been subsequently informed by both a reporter and another attorney that the intention is that the matter will be delayed for a month but that the judge has indicated that he will be proceeding to trial in the next month"
"He indicated, he expressed, at that time he expressed his gratitude for the work that we had done. He expressed his thanks but said that at that point in time, he would have to proceed to represent himself in the trial."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Now, this is a murder trial, doesn't it go contrary to the law that a defendant, attempts to defend himself in a murder trial?"
OJ Elrington, Attorney-At-Law
"No, it's not contrary to the law, what is provided under our constitution is that a person has a right to a defence and it has long been argued whether or not that right means that you must be provided with an attorney. What the courts have done as a matter of practice is that in matters such as murder, they give them all the opportunity to be able to afford them the right to an attorney. So, even if they can't afford one that is why the court would normally appoint an attorney, a competent attorney, right, and so that is the, that is all that the court has to do. There is no responsibility, there is no law that says that you must be represented in a murder trial by an attorney, there is no such law, you must be afforded the opportunity to but if you decide that you want to represent yourself there is nothing precluding a person from representing themselves in law."
We'll keep following the case.
